MIT researchers used real traveler patterns, geographical information and airport waiting times to predict what U.S. airports are most likely to spread an epidemic from its origin. Katherine Harmon reports.

July 24, 2012

The security lines at JFK and LAX can be horrendous. But these airports have something in common worse than the gripes of jaded travelers. A new study finds that they, along with Honolulu International Airport, are the most likely to facilitate the spread of a major pandemic.

Over a decade has passed since Portugal changed its philosophy from labeling drug users as criminals to labeling them as people affected by a disease. This time lapse has allowed statistics to develop and in time, has made Portugal an example to follow.

First, some clarification.

Portugal's move to decriminalize does not mean people can carry around, use, and sell drugs free from police interference.

That would be legalization.

Rather, all drugs are "decriminalized," meaning drug possession, distribution, and use is still illegal. While distribution and trafficking is still a criminal offense, possession and use is moved out of criminal courts and in…

Impressive as well as tasty, ripe haribhanga mangoes adorn a tree in Rangpur.Photo: STAR

Mehedy Hasan, Rangpur

A recently developed variety of high quality mango, locally called haribhanga, has appeared as more appetizing than traditional popular varieties like langra, fazli and amropali in the markets in Rangpur.

Introduced about 12 years ago by Abdus Salam Sarkar, a retired government official, at Podaganj village under Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur district, haribhnaga now sees large-scale cultivation in Mithapukur, Badarganj, Pirganj and Sadar upazilas in Rangpur district as well as other areas of the northern region, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said.

Around 30 thousand people of Badarganj and Mithapukur upazilas are directly dependent on the cultivation and trading of the highly fleshy, fibreless and tasty variety mango.

Traders from Dhaka, Rajshahi, Barisal, Khulna and Sylhet are thronging the local markets to buy haribhanga from here.

We have entered the endgame in Syria. That doesn't mean that we have reached the end by any means, but it does mean that the precondition has been met for the fall of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. We have argued that so long as the military and security apparatus remain intact and effective, the regime could endure. Although they continue to function, neither appears intact any longer; their control of key areas such as Damascus and Aleppo is in doubt, and the reliability of their personnel, given defections, is no longer certain. We had thought that there was a reasonable chance of the al Assad regime surviving completely. That is no longer the case. At a certain point -- in our view, after the defection of a Syrian pilot June 21 and then the defection of the Tlass clan -- key members of the regime began to recalculate the probability of survival and their interests. The regime has not unraveled, but it is unrave…

Firefighters continue to battle a fire on the MSC Flaminia as the abandoned container ship is being towed from the mid-Atlantic toward Europe.

Reederei NSB, the ship’s German owner, said firefighting efforts could take weeks.

The ship was being towed to port by Fairmount Marine’s firefighting tug Fairmount Expedition while another firefighting tug, the Anglian Sovereign, sprayed water on the fire. A third firefighting tug also was on hand.

A party of four salvage specialists managed to reactivate the MSC Flaminia’s firefighting system, which was being used to cool the area in front of the ship’s superstructure. The superstructure and engine room reportedly were not damaged.

Reederei NSB said the ship was listing by eight to 10 degrees because of the water poured on the fire and the damaged cargo.

Chittoor: Project Unnati, a sustainable agriculture initiative by Coca-Cola and Jain Irrigation, accomplished its first milestone today with the announcement of a specialized farmer training program and the establishment of 100 demo farms in the pilot phase to train over 50,000 farmers over five years. The program will use specialized buses with in-built classrooms to provide on-the-go training in Ultra High Density Plantation (UHDP) techniques in mango farming which can help farmers double their mango yields and thus significantly improve their livelihood. The first phase of the project has an investment outlay of more than USD 2 million, shared equally between Coca-Cola and Jain Irrigation.